Tale of a Jinchūriki
by Alandor Mersoc
Summary: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" that line would sum up Naruto's life. A family that only had the best of intentions for him. Growing up with a father who loved him and the knowledge that his mother loved him. You would think that life would be easier. But anger and hate are strange emotions. And people will always look for someone to blame.
1. Chapter 1

Minato Namikaze sat in his office, the weight in his arms the only thing keeping him from braking down altogether. She was gone, his love was gone from this world she had left him two gifts, the first was time. Time to be able to save everyone, to find a new solution. The second however was the most important of them.

It was the weight in his arms that he could feel. He could hear his son sleeping, how long he had waited to be a father. The only person who was looking forward to his little boy's birth was that of his wife.

Silent tears streamed down his face as he thought of the woman that would never hold their son, who wouldn't be able to show him all the things she had planned to.

Looking at the bundle in his arms he tried to smile, this should have been one of the greatest days of his life. It should be Kushina holding little Naruto in her arms, as he would try and get her to hand him over.

His wife should be here holding their son, it shouldn't have been him, it was his job to give his life for the village, and it was his job to lay down his life for his son. But Kushina words echoed in his head _"No there has to be another way! Find it Minato, Please. He can't grow up alone!" _He had wanted to argue with her, that if they sealed it in Naruto she could be there for him, he wouldn't be alone.

She had been adamant about it, she wouldn't let him sacrifice his life. Looking at his son there was nearly nothing that would distinguish him as Kushina's child except the colour of his eyes. Which were a vibrant violet in colour.

There was still some blood on the child's forehead from where Kushina had kissed him. Fresh tears started to stream from the Hokage's eyes as he thought how it was the only time the child would have any part of his mother with him.

The village was in turmoil, they were afraid, they had just survived an attack by the Kyuubi, he knew he should do something he should say something to the village, but he didn't know what to do. He just wanted to stay in his office and hold onto his child.

He heard the door slowly creek open, but didn't bother to turn his head, it didn't matter who it was, even if it had been an assassin, a small part of him welcomed the idea of death, then he would be reunited with his wife.

A much louder part told him that he needed to protect his son, that he was the most important thing to him now. It was thanks to that part that made him lift his head to see who had come to disturb him.

There at the door was his predecessor, the Sandaime Hokage, still garbed in his battle outfit. "Minato you are needed." He said, though he was old his voice was still strong. His eyes however told a different tale, they were filled with nothing but grief and sorrow, not only at what had happened to the village but at the loss of his wife.

Still though he sat in silence, not knowing what he should do. Not knowing what he should say to the people, he gently pulled his son closer to him, hoping to draw strength from the bundle in his arms. The boy that was sleeping silently with no idea what had transpired this night.

He thought it would all suddenly become clear, he thought that with his child in his hands that he would know exactly what needed to be done.

But the more he thought the more uncertainty set in, they were safe, but not for long. The kyuubi would be back, and then the battle would begin anew. If he told the people it would cause problems, if he didn't it would leave them unprepared.

Then there was the problem of if he didn't tell them they would want to know what had happened to the Kyuubi, and there wasn't much of an excuse that he could give them. Under Nine years, that is how long it would take for the Kyuubi to resurface.

Then there was the problem of Madara Uchiha, if he struck once he would strike again, especially considering that the Kyuubi would be released. As well as any nation that hears that there is a biju out in the open. It would not be easy to try and capture it, it would be a race against fuinjutsu experts. Who could seal it first and get out of the area with it.

He was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of crying, looking down it seemed that Naruto had woken up. Minato tried to quiet the child to no avail. He was rocking him in his arms as he tried to sooth the child.

"He's probably hungry" he heard Hiruzen say from his side.

Minato could only nod before going to the lowest drawer and taking out baby formula. He noticed the look on the older man's face.

"We… prepared this beforehand… if he was with me and… Kushina… Kushina wasn't…" he couldn't finish what he was trying to say. It hurt too much, he couldn't bear the thought that she was no longer with him.

Maybe that was why he stayed in his office if he didn't leave he wouldn't have to see everything that happened, he wouldn't have to go home, he wouldn't be in his house that would not have Kushina. He set about making the formula for his son. He had been practicing it for months so that he could do it in his sleep. The thought of how much money he had spent on baby formula, and how much of a mess he had made in the first month caused a small twitch at his lips.

That twitch became more of a smile as he heard the boy stop his crying and started to drink. "If there are any free physicians bring one here. Naruto needs a check-up" he said, while he may have been smiling at his son his voice was hollow.

"Minato please you need to listen" the old man tried to tell him.

"I will talk to them in the morning, now find one." Once again his voice sounded hollow. Sarutobi nodded and set out.

While he may not like Minato's decision it was probably for the best, if the people of Konoha see there Hokage like this they will lose faith. They needed to see their Hokage strong, not broken and beaten. With that he set out to find someone to do a check-up on the boy.

Minato went back to sitting alone in his office, just him and his son.

-()-

It had been a week since the attack on Konoha, it had been a hard time for the village. People trying to rebuild their lives, families' mourning their loved ones, there had been so many dead that they had a mass funeral for them instead of having individual ones.

Minato set in his office again with Naruto in his crib near him. It had been a common site for anyone who had come into the office to see the Yondaime's son either in the crib, baby seat or in the Yondaime's hands.

To some it seemed like an over protective father, but for Minato it was the fear that his son may just disappear if he wasn't around. If he lost him he would have nothing to keep him going, he would probably give up altogether.

What had surprised people however was the boy's name, 'Naruto Uzumaki' when the Sandaime had questioned why he wouldn't use his own name he had told him, 'He is the last Uzumaki.' That was the reason he told the village, the truth of the matter was that he wanted his son to have something of his mothers. He couldn't determine what type of man he would grow up to be, if he wanted to be a Ninja or not, but he could carry his mother's name, and let her live on through him.

It was something that he was originally going to do, Minato and Kushina had the discussion of what last name to use a few times, and while it would always end in indecision he had no intention of giving Naruto the name Namikaze. He had only held out with the idea of it because he liked seeing how Kushina acted in the arguments.

A feeling of guilt washed over him at that thought, he should have told her, she would have been so happy to know her son would carry on her name.

He didn't know why he had done it, but he had told the council the Kyuubi was dealt with, when the elders asked who the Jinchūriki was he had told them it was of none of their concern where the Jinchūriki was.

It was a dumb choice, and he hadn't made many friends with that action, but the other option was to tell them that the Kyuubi would be coming back. The only thing that would stop people from learning about it was if no one knew until it happened.

Maybe it wasn't the best choice. But he could bet that if he had mentioned it to anyone then the whole village would know of it, which would lead to another village finding out, and finally the whole Elemental Nations would know that the Kyuubi was not sealed away. Which would bring every enemy to Konoha in nine years to get it.

He had to come up with an idea on how to deal with it, he would end up creating a Jinchūriki, and he hated the idea of it. But the part that he hated even more was that he knew who he would have to make into the Jinchūriki.

He had promised Kushina that he would find another way, he had years to figure one out, but there was the nagging in his head that that he knew that he would break his last promise to her.

He got up from his seat and walked over to the crib where Naruto was softly sleeping, gently he picked him up and held him in his arms. He did this every time he thought of the woman he loved. He kept his son close to him to always remember that he was what she gave her life for.

-()-

Two years had passed since the Kyuubi attack and Minato learnt something very important. A two year old child is a nightmare.

He was standing in the training area of his home looking for his son. The first time this had happened he had freaked out. People would still chuckle at remembering the blonde Hokage running through the streets frantically looking for his child. He wasn't sure how he had managed to do it, or how long he was away for, but he remembered finding the boy sitting in the park playing in the sandbox. He had ran forward picked him up and was about to take him home until Naruto burst into tears trying to squirm out his father's arms so he could play in the sandbox some more. It didn't take long for Minato to relent. The part that made the seen so odd was when people saw his secretary bringing him his paperwork.

Back to the problem at hand though was that Naruto was somewhere in the training yard and he didn't know where. He had a barrier seal around the area that would alert him if Naruto left it. Fool me once shame on you, fool me eight time shame on the Blonde Hokage.

It took longer than it should have for the proclaimed fastest man alive to find his son. He was searching through the shrubs when his eyes came upon his sleeping son, Naruto had grown a lot in these two years.

He had bright blonde hair like him, his face was slightly rounded that reminded him of Kushina his cheeks were chubby and still had six whisker marks adorning them. He was wearing an orange t shirt and green shorts. _'Why is he so hard to find when he wearing an orange t shirt?'_ Minato thought. Then his eyes came to rest at what was beside his son, nestled closely as if trying to keep itself warm from his son's body heat was a small orange kit.

Looking at the small kit it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened, foxes weren't liked in Konoha. The poor things skulk was probably dead, and if anyone found it they would probably try and kill it as well.

He wasn't blind to the people, he had heard a few mutter things about Naruto himself because of his whisker marks. No one would say anything to loud but the thoughts were there. He was only thankful that they noticed that he was a child.

He was about to lift the boy when he saw his little hands reach out and hug the small kit, it's head raised and he heard a small growl coming from it, he was about to intervene afraid that it would bite his son until he saw Naruto try and hug the small critter. After a moment the kit quieted down and went back to sleep.

He was surprised by what he saw, not that Naruto was hugging the fox, but that it had quieted down and went back to sleep. He quietly left the boy to go to his study, after picking up the batch of work he took home with him he went back to where his son was and started reading through it. Enjoying the time he sat with the boy.

He wasn't sure when it happened but from the warm air and peaceful atmosphere he had fallen asleep, he was woken by feeling of something licking at his face.

Startled awake he looked around to see his Naruto standing in front of him with the fox in his hands as it licked at his face.

"Can I keep him? I'll take care of him" Naruto asked looking at the man with wide eyes as if trying to willing him to say yes.

Minato for his part looked between his son and the small animal, a part of him wanted to say no. Not because he didn't like foxes, it was because he thought that it was going to be the case that he would be taking care of the animal. On top of that he was pretty sure foxes weren't pets.

"Only if it wants to stay." He finally said to his son.

Naruto's eyes brightened and he lifted the small kit to his face before rubbing his nose against the kit's nose. He then set it down on the ground "Come on I'll find you sumtin" he said as he ran towards the house.

Minato watched as the animal took careful steps and followed after his son, "it's something, not sumtin" he said to no one in particular he would have to tell him when he gets to the house. Picking up his paperwork he made his way back as well.

He entered the house to see Naruto standing on a chair leaning into the freezer trying to find food for the kit that was on the worktop beside him. Minato sighed at his son's antics and figured he would need to clean the worktop again.

He then realised a slight problem. He would need to take it to the vet to get it checked out. The only vets were at the Inuzaka's compound across the village. He was not looking forward to the idea of having to take it across the village.

He could bet that he would need Naruto to take it and if people seen the fox with Naruto those slight whispers would begin to get louder. Would he deny the boy based on a few whispers? He should, but one look at the smile on his face made that thought disappear.

-()-

It was night time in the household, the journey to the Inuzaka's had not been a good one he saw how people looked at the animal. How it hid under Naruto's t shirt, Naruto had taken his arms out of his sleeves in order to hold it. The smile that was on Naruto's face had changed to one of sadness as he felt the kit shaking in his arms.

The looks of confusion on peoples' faces as they saw him walking with his son who was holding a fox, he knew he would hear something about it tomorrow but he would just let it be.

They had to leave the kit at the Inuzaka's compound for the night, which Naruto didn't seem happy about.

After he had taken him to get some Ramen, they went home for the evening. He had just finished tucking him in and reading him a story when he went to his own room.

Nights were the hardest for him, during the day he had work or Naruto to distract himself with, but when he lay in bed at night it would all come rushing back. She was gone, so many happy memories were shared just lying in this bed. So many more that should have been. He drifted off to sleep feeling that same emptiness that he had felt on the day of Naruto's birth.

The day where she was taken from him, he had never slept well since then. He had tried sleeping in another room, away from the bed. But that didn't help, it made it worse in some ways. Being here he felt somewhat close to her. He drifted off to sleep with the thoughts of his wife, wishing that when he woke up she would be in his arms like they she was always meant to be.

He was woken from his sleep when he felt a slight burning on his arm. The mark for when Naruto left the barrier around there home. Panicking, he quickly got dressed and went to his son's room. He saw the window open but there was no sign of a mess, meaning he most likely got out on his own again.

Quickly going over to the window he saw his son running off into the darkness. He quickly began to give chase. He was never too sure how the boy had such reserves and stamina he would say it was because of him being an Uzumaki, but he wasn't quite sure. He finally caught up to the boy at the Inuzaka compound he was going to the veterinarian. He followed after his son in order to stop him doing something stupid. He watched as he climbed through an open window, unfortunately it was too small for him to get through. He moved around the building to try and see where his son was.

He caught sight of him through a window, he was in a room full of different cages. He watched as he opened the cage and climbed in. Deciding that enough was enough he went to Tsume in order to get help.

After a few minutes of talking and finding out the situation Tsume and himself went to the head vet to open the building to find out what was happening.

When they finally entered the room Minato's eyes landed on a sleeping Naruto with the kit curled up beside him. Sighing in relief he was about to pick up his son when he saw Tsume place a small blanket over the two.

"If he did it once he will probably try again, I've seen a few of the younger pups do the same when there partners are in here." She said. Though she was slightly surprised at what the Yondaime's kid had done, especially with the fact that it was a fox. But she chalked it up to a child wanting to be with his pet.

"Though I must ask why didn't you just use the Hiraishin to get to the boy yourself" Tsume asked, it was quite confusing, he shouldn't have had any trouble reaching the child with that technique

Minato for his part wanted to slap himself on the head, he hadn't even thought of using it, he didn't even have a mark on Naruto encase his son was ever in trouble. He would need to rectify that mistake.

"I… forgot" he said, he wanted to just hang his head in shame.

Tsume barked out a laugh at the man however and turned to leave. "You can sleep here, there's a cot in the other room." She said before leaving.

Minato didn't want to stay, he wanted to be back in his own home. But he wouldn't leave Naruto alone, and he wouldn't take him away. So that meant he would have a bad night's sleep so his son wouldn't. _'A fair trade'_ he thought before going to sleep.

A.N

This is a story idea that has been stuck in my head a while, I probably won't update it very often I just wanted to get the first chapter done. I am mainly focusing on The Shadow's Apprentice.

Well I hope you enjoyed it and some feedback would be appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

It was quiet in the Namikaze household, the house was a rather simple two story building that was found on the outskirts of the village. The early morning sun was shining through the windows, gently shining upon a young boy as he slept silently. However, the silence was suddenly broken by a loud shout that originated from the bathroom.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Minato Namikaze's voice could be heard throughout the entire house. To any that knew the man they would be able to instantly tell that he was angry. This stemmed from the fact that he would very rarely use his son's full name unless he was angry.

At the sound of his father's voice a five-year-old boy shot out of bed, it took him a moment to orientate himself wondering what had happened that had caused his father to shout his name. It took a moment for the memories of the previous night to play through his head before he quickly had to get dressed. Grabbing his clothes, which consisted of an orange t-shirt with an Uzumaki swirl on the back of it, a pair of sage green shorts, and a small backpack that held his camping gear, he ran towards the window.

Stopping for a moment he realised he had forgotten his most precious item, he could hear the footsteps of his father drawing closer turning he ran towards the desk, not wasting a second he grabbed a brown covered book before running back to the window. Opening the window, he threw the bag out before he climbed out clutching his book tight to his chest.

He was just in time to see his father slamming open the door, "Naruto!" he heard the man shout, he had only enough time to see the a tuft of bright neon pink before he slid down the slanted roof.

Minato had come barging into the room looking for his son. He could only watch as the boy left through the window with a large smile on his face.

Minato stood in the room, he was angry at his son, not furious but angry none the less, it was days like this where he regretted telling his son how much his mother use to like to prank people. His reflection showed that his once blonde hair had suddenly become a neon pink colour, courtesy of his son swapping his shampoo with a fast acting hair dye.

It would seem that his son was in one of his moods to cause mischief, he was not sure what brought it on, what actually worried him was how he always managed to get out the window. He had put a seal on it to stop it from being able to be opened ever since he climbed out to go to the veterinarians. That had worked for a few years, but now he was unsure of when he had managed to start opening the window again.

Sighing he decided to leave, he knew where the boy was going, he had grabbed his camping gear which meant that after he went to the academy he had no intentions of coming home.

It was something that had started after the first time he took him camping; he had taken Naruto camping so little Kichiro could run around the woods and try to hunt for some food. Naruto had taken a liking to it and being that Kichiro also enjoyed it meant that he would go camping often.

Sighing to himself he realised it was going to be a long day; he was not looking forward to his secretary's remarks about his hair. Out of the long list of people who had been affected by Naruto's tendencies to prank, she seemed to be missed a lot. Compared to other people in the administration building, he knew why or at least was able to make a solid guess as to why, she was one of the few who didn't look at him wearily due to the whisker marks on his face and the fact that he was always seen with a fox.

As he had believed three years ago, the village didn't take well to seeing his son running around with a small fox. The small whispers that he had heard about his son's appearance due to his whisker marks had only increased because of the fox that he now had with him. People would give him a wider berth then what they should have, as well as giving him guarded looks.

They knew he was his son, though the fact that he was, called Uzumaki seemed to have had another impact on it. It nearly seemed like some people believed that he had given his son his mother's last name not to honour the woman he loved. Instead, some believed that it was because the boy wasn't worthy enough to be his son. That had infuriated him tremendously.

Leaving those thoughts to the side he decided to leave the room to get some breakfast and go to his office.

-()-

Naruto was running through the streets of Konoha, his backpack was slung over his shoulder with Kichiro running alongside him. The little fox had grown over the last three years, it scampered along staying close to him.

Naruto may not have been the brightest boy in his class, but he knew that a lot of people in Konoha did not like the fact that he had a fox as a pet. It wasn't hard to see, they always gave him strange looks. At first he thought it had to do with the fact of who his dad was. But none of the other clan heirs received those looks.

But if the people would look at him funnily because of Kichiro then he didn't care about them. He made his way to the academy for another boring day.

Entering the building he went to his room and waited for the rest of the class to come. He couldn't contain his grin at the idea of all of the others coming in, he was looking forward to seeing his master piece unfold. He had been working on it for the last month.

In order to pass the time he decided to read from his book. It was a simple brown book, but to him it was the most important thing in the world. He had found it last year when he was thinking of a way to prank his dad for the first time. He was going through the closest when he came across a small brown book.

Curious about it he decided to see what was within it. He remembered the first paragraph like the back of his hand.

"_I don't know why I am even writing in this already, but I'm just so happy. I found out today that I am pregnant. I can't wait to see you. I know it's strange, I feel like a wreck but I am just so happy. You know I haven't told your dad yet. I can't wait to tell him. But for the moment it's just me and you who know. I'm counting down the days I can't wait till I meet you. I feel like I am ranting but… but I'm so happy, I am just so happy."_

He had cried when he had read it, his mother had kept a journal throughout her pregnancy. Reading it had been the greatest feeling he had ever had. His dad had told him about his mother, how much she was looking forward to meeting him. How happy of a woman she was, how skilled a kunochi she was and just how much she loved him.

But reading her journal had been an eye opener, his mother had loved him, he had been told she had, but reading her words seeing the day they had decided on his name, knowing that she had been counting down the days until they met. It was so much to take in, it had been filled with other things as well. Stuff she had wanted to teach him, how she would read to him every night hoping he could hear her voice, it was thanks to a little note that she had put in it about seals that he had managed to break the one on the window.

He had read the book cover to cover multiple times, he had never shown it to his father out of fear that he may take it and put it away somewhere. It was the only thing he had of his mothers and he wanted to keep it. Call him selfish but he would be selfish for this one time.

Naruto set at his desk with Kichiro curled up at his feet, some of the class didn't like the fact that he had a fox with him, apparently their parents they didn't want a fox in the class. But they weren't able to stop him. Especially after he had started to keep it in his jacket in the winter.

As the first members started to trickle in for the day he couldn't help but laugh slightly as he saw some of the clan members. It hadn't been easy but he had managed to dye a lot of their clothes. And when he said it wasn't easy it had been a month in the making.

Over the past month he had been sneaking into the different clan compounds and stealing clothing that had been in there washrooms. After about two weeks he deemed that he had enough, from there he spent nearly the next two weeks dying the clothes. And last night he had swapped all of the clothes that he had dyed with their normal clothes. It had taken most of the night and he was starting to feel his tiredness creep in, the only reason he had dyed his dad's hair was because he had dye left and was awake, but it was definitely worth it. Seeing members of his class show up in bright neon pinks and blues was funny but he was tired.

Laying his head down, he decided that he was due some rest for a job well done. It didn't take long for him to slip into blissful unconsciousness.

He was awoken by the sound of the bell ringing signalling that it was time for lunch. He wasn't sure what he had slept through or why no one had woke him up. He wasn't that worried, he didn't really like the academy but he had to go if he wanted to be a ninja.

Rubbing the sand from his eyes he drew himself up in order to go outside, walking through the building he made his way to the swing set. He always played on the swing set, very few of the children approached him. It was a normal occurrence really, some of the children liked him, but stayed away. He wasn't sure why. It may have been Kichiro that they didn't like, and if they didn't like Kichiro then he didn't care about them. He knew some didn't like his whisker marks, they thought they made him look strange. And some may have been intimidated by the fact that his father was the Hokage.

He was sitting alone with Kichiro resting underneath the swing, lazing in the shade. As he set on the swing he decided to read more of his mother's journal. Whenever he felt lonely he would read from the book, his mother's writings always made him feel better. Like he could face any problem because he knew that his mother had loved him. It was the most comforting feeling for him, not even his dad could make him feel as safe as that little book did.

Opening it up he decided to start reading, _"Three more months Naruto, just three more months then mommy gets to meet you. I can't wait. I say that every day, but I'll say it again today as I did yesterday and I will do tomorrow. I felt you kicking earlier, are you as excited to meet me as I am to meet you. The things I'm going to have to teach and show you, how to wield a blade, how to seal and the Miracles of Ramen! You'll love it. Mommy is going to teach you everything you will ever need to know."_

He wondered when he would be able to learn to wield a blade himself, he wanted to make his mother proud, and if she had wanted him to wield a sword then that was what he would do.

"_Your fathers being annoying again, he won't accept that you are going to be Naruto Uzumaki, I would settle for Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, but no he keeps saying that it should be Namikaze. What do you think, do you want to be Uzumaki or Namikaze?"_

When he had been slightly younger he had asked his dad about his last name, he had told him that he was always going to call him Uzumaki, though he had wished he had told his mother that he was going to do it. He had wondered why he hadn't his dad's name. But the more he read in the journal the happier he was that he had been called Uzumaki, his mom would be so happy.

He was broken out of his thoughts when a few boys appeared in front of him, they were members of not only his class but he was certain that somewhere from the older classes as well.

"So you think this is funny" one of the boys had spoken using his hand to point at his clothes, Naruto looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle. They were members of, the Inuzuka, Uchiha and Yamanaka clans. The one talking had been a brown haired boy with the markings that would indicate Inuzaka, his jacket had been a bright pink. Naruto would admit that it was kind of sore on the eyes to look at.

He stifled a laugh at how they looked and was about to answer, before he could the one standing at the front had hit his hand knocking the book to the ground.

Naruto had immediately stopped paying attention to the group and quickly scrambled to the ground in order to get the book back, he could hear a low growl coming from Kichiro.

Before he could get to the book three of the boys had piled on him, he hadn't realised that someone had pounced and held Kichiro to the ground, his eyes were wide. His mother's journal was on the ground just out of reach.

The boy at the front noticed that he had seemed to be trying to get to the book, picking it up he looked it over, "Seems that this is important, it would be a shame if something happened to it?" he said simply.

Naruto didn't know what to do, they were holding him down he could feel tears build up in his eyes, they had taken his mother's journal and he didn't know what they would do with it. The sound of growling intensified before he suddenly heard the sound of a meaty thud and a low whimper come from behind him.

"Stupid fox, the mangy creature shouldn't even be allowed here." One of the boys said.

Naruto could feel anger build up they had just hurt his friend, Kichiro hadn't done anything, he had never hurt anyone and they had just hit him.

"This will teach you for dying all our clothes." The one holding the book said, he watched as his anger gave way to terror as the boy opened the book and tore out the first four pages before tearing them into pieces.

Naruto's fear began to subside and turn to sorrow at what they had done, not only had they hurt Kichiro but they had damaged his mother's journal. That sorrow quickly changed to anger, they had hurt his friend and damaged the only thing that he had of his mothers. For the first time in Naruto's five years of life an unadulterated and unbridled fury washed over him.

It felt like a tempest that had started in his stomach and slowly spread through his body, he was so angry, he wanted to make them pay. The anger became unimaginable and he could have sworn he had heard someone shout out in pain before his vision went red.

-()-

A.N

Short chapter I know but I had stopped writing for a little while and just getting back into the swing of it.

Hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and I think I should actually be updating this one again before I update The Shadow' Apprentice.


	3. Chapter 3

Minato Namikaze was sitting in his office, it had not been a good day for the blonde-haired turned pink haired Hokage, first had been his secretary who had been laughing near uncontrollably every time that she had to enter the room in order to give him more work. His paperwork seemed to be piling up on him and to top it off he had received some angry guests in the forms of the Clan heads who had seemed to not only lose half of their clothing but had the other half dyed horrendously bright colours.

Today was defiantly not going good, though he did wonder how his son had managed to pull off the prank, it clearly wasn't the spur of the moment idea he would be willing to bet that his own end had been in comparison to the other people caught up in the prank.

When the clan heads had been in his office his secretary, a rather plain woman, with brown bob cut hair, a plain if not slightly round face. Standing at a height of five foot four and dressed in civilian garb, consisting of a light green t-shirt and dark trousers. The only thing that actually made you think that she was a ninja was the fact that she wore a mesh top underneath her clothes. She had deception down to a fine art. She stood with a surprising placid face in the office taken notes for him.

It was only after they left that she had broken out in laughter at the situation, "How… How" she tried to get out between breaths. After she had managed to settle down she turned to her Hokage, "How long did it take him to pull that off" she had finally managed to get out.

The situation was ludicrous to her. The Hokage's son had not only dyed his hair pink, which was in itself hilarious, but had also dyed the clothes of other clans in Konoha. She knew that he wasn't endearing himself to any of the clans by his actions. However, he hadn't been the most popular boy in the village.

One would believe that the Hokage's son would be one of the most popular children within Konoha, however ever since people had laid eyes on the boy and his whiskered face he had immediately drawn mistrust.

Everyone had the same conclusion, whisker marks were not natural. And for a child born on the night of the Kyuubi attack to have them meant there was something wrong. Though she had to say they made him look positively adorable if vaguely fox like.

Add in that he kept a pet fox and suspicion of the boy had escalated. Though she couldn't for the life her understand why they were so suspicious of the boy, yes he acted out a lot, but in a village where he may not have been shunned but was not the most welcomed he had to do something.

Though looking at it from a tactical mind set the boy was a little genius. The academy may never pick up on it, but to sneak into the clans, steal some of their clothes and replace them with the dyed clothes he had stolen showed a remarkable level of skill or patience, she wasn't quite sure which.

"Kimiko" she was broken from her thoughts when she heard the Hokage's voice.

"Yes?" she asked.

Minato had to repress a sigh, he had been trying to get her attention since she had started laughing, "Before the clan heads came in you said you had something of importance" usually he would of listened to what his secretary had brought to him, but when the clan heads barge into your office you decide to try and get the meeting over with as soon as possible.

"Oh yes, it would seem the Raikage has expressed his wish to come to Konoha to try and better the diplomatic mess of the last meeting" She said.

Diplomatic mess was too nice a term for the royal cluster fuck that had become, the head ninja of Kumo had tried to kidnap Hiashi's daughter and was killed in the process, and they sought compensation for the dishonour that had been brought upon them. And he had said no. Now the Raikage wanted to play nice, he knew the man, fought the man, and had had a form of respect for him. That had been until the incident two years ago.

His pointed refusal to submit to the idea of compensation had been met with mixed reviews within Konoha, Minato was adamant about not going to war again, especially considering that he only had three years to try and come up with an idea of how to deal with the Kyuubi. But he wouldn't sacrifice a man who was protecting his daughter, and he wouldn't sacrifice an innocent man to try and appease Kumo.

War was not an option but peace through innocent blood shed was not an option either, a part of him hopped that maybe with the coming of the Raikage they could find another solution to the situation. With that thought in mind he had sent Kimiko to deliver his response. He did hope that the hair dye would come out by the time of the meeting. It would not look well if he were to meet the man with bright pink hair. He would need to make sure Naruto didn't cause any trouble.

He loved his son, he loved him more than anything in this world, but the boy could be a handful.

It was during that thought that he felt a sudden pull of his chakra, a seal on his arm burned, it was a special seal that he had designed to react whenever the seal he had placed on his son activated in order for him to know that it was Naruto.

Before he could activate the Hiraishin a sudden wave of oppression and terror washed over the village, it was the same feeling as five years ago, it was not something that he could ever forget, he was certain no one in the village would be able to forget it.

"No it can't be it's too soon I still have time." He said when he felt it, he pushed that thought to the side, if the kyuubi had reformed sooner than he had anticipated, he would deal with it, and he did have a plan. Not the one he wanted to use, but he had been unable to find another way to stop it.

Pushing those thoughts to the side he could worry about them later, however his son was in danger right now and he could do something about that. And with that thought he flashed out of his office.

-()-

The school yard had erupted in absolute pandemonium; some of the clan kids had surrounded Naruto in order to get him back for dying their clothes. Most would have thought of this as a simple thing, and few of the students cared what happened to the blonde haired violet eyed boy. Yes he was the Hokage's son but he was a notorious trouble maker at the same time.

Most would agree that on some level that the blonde had it coming. The fact that the majority of the children didn't like his pet for various reasons or his whisker marks had nothing to do with it.

However when there had been a sudden scream of pain from the swing everyone in the yard had turned to see what was happening.

What they saw terrified them, on the ground was Naruto, but he seemed to have something bubbling around him, the features on his face had become more animalistic, his short blonde hair had taken on a more wild an untamed look. And his once purple eyes had changed to become red instead of his normal pupils they had become slits more akin to that of a cat or a fox.

But the screams were not coming from Naruto, no it was one of the boys that had been around him, they had been screaming, it was as if they were being burned by whatever had surrounded Naruto's body.

The sudden screams were stopped as a howl of pure rage left the young boy's mouth; the force of the shout was strong enough to send the all of the children around him flying back through the air. The roar had sent shivers of pure terror lashing down the spines of everyone within the vicinity.

The children watched in horror as Naruto appeared to become nothing more than an orange blur, the chunnin that had come running to investigate were only moderately better, while they could see the boy's movements they were unable to act from the sheer presence the child had.

The orange blur had moved fast towards his nearest target, the force of the blow that had hit the child in front of him had managed to send him back nearly twenty feet. The children screamed again at the sight. All of them tried to run away from the intimidating sight.

The roars of rage became louder, deeper, as the orange blur pounced on another child, a sickening crunch could be heard from the boy as his arm was crushed through pure brute force.

This was the sight that Minato Namikaze the Yondaime Hokage came upon, he had flashed to the area in order to protect his son, and instead he found a boy covered in violent and malevolent chakra.

Minato was speechless as he saw the area, and for the briefest of moments true fear gripped at his heart. His son was surrounded in that Chakra. His son was attacking a child with what appeared to be the intent to harm, if not kill.

The roar of anger echoed throughout the clearing, but within that roar was something that any father worth there salt could hear, to the onlookers, the shinobi and kunoichi, the children, they heard the roar of anger. However, he could hear the anguish, he son was screaming in pain.

Without thinking Minato dived at his son, grabbing a hold of him and pulled him close, "It's okay Naruto, it's okay" he said, trying to calm the boy down.

The chakra burned, it was hard for him to keep a hold of his thrashing son, but he would not let go, his son was hurting, he could hear it. At the time he couldn't understand why it was happening. However, that didn't matter to him, he had a job to do and that was help his son.

He did not know how long he had been sitting holding onto his raging son, but soon the screams of rage gave way to ragged sobs. Naruto was crying, he was vaguely aware that Kichiro had shambled over to them.

After a minute the sobs tapered off and Naruto fell unconscious in his arms. He didn't spare a glance around him, he could worry about everything else in a moment right now Naruto was his main priority. Absent-mindedly he picked up Kichiro before flashing away from the scene.

-()-

Minato set in his office, Naruto was resting on the couch he had immediately taken the boy to the hospital in order to figure out what had happened to his son.

There was no real danger, not at this moment in time, he seemed to be suffering from Chakra exhaustion and burns, he himself had some severe burns from the cloak of Chakra that had surrounded Naruto, but he could deal with them, it wasn't important at the moment. No what was important was figuring out what had happened to his son.

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard the door open, in walked Sarotobi he was looking rather solemn, "Minato the council has called an emergency meeting, they want to know what had happened." He talked in a rather calm tone. Though Minato could see that he was going to great length not to look towards his son.

"One moment" he said before opening his drawer he took out a blank piece of paper before pushing chakra into it. "Inu" he said aloud. Within moments a silver haired ANBU member was standing in the office. "Watch my son, no one gets in or out." He said in a firm voice.

The ANBU made a head nod to show that he had heard the order, if Minato was surprised the young man didn't answer him directly then he didn't show it. With that both men had left to go to see the council.

-()-

Upon approaching the chambers Minato could already hear the groups talking, well it was more akin to shouting, trying to find out what had happened and what was going to be done.

As soon as he entered the room the gathered personnel had stopped there shouting, silence stemmed for a moment before someone from the crowd spoke, "Hokage-sama, did that thing do that to you?"

It took a moment for the words to register, it was the second part that had registered first, he had suddenly became aware that while he was getting Naruto checked out the nurses had been bandaging him. His arms were covered in bandages with a couple on his face. His clothes had taken damage as well, his body suddenly became very aware of the corrosive chakra that had made its way through his system.

However this all became second when he heard what one of these people had called his son, they had referred to him as a thing, as less than a person. Anger boiled in him at that thought, but he pushed it aside, it would do no good to get angry here and now. He absently noted that all of the clan heads were still in there dyed clothes.

"What is the purpose of this meeting, there are important things to be done." Minato said in an even tone, he did not want to be here, what ever happened to Naruto he needed to solve. He could not afford to waste time here.

"Why did you refuse to tell us that you had made your son the Jinchūriki?" He was surprised at this not only at the question but at the one who asked it, Minato turned to Sarutobi.

Words are very important, they can be used to damn a person or to raise him higher than they could on their own. They can inspire or bring fear to millions. The right words, at the right time can change the hearts of the many. The wrong words can lead people to the wrong conclusions, which in turn brings about wrong answers.

They can be a comforter or they can chip away at someone until there is nothing left. For Minato Namikaze the next words that left his mouth had sealed his son's fate.

"I didn't make him a Jinchūriki" he spoke strongly, as if to try and reassure the people around him all would be well.

As soon as the words registered with the people in the room fear crept into their hearts, if the boy was not a Jinchūriki, then he was something else. For the shinobi they all had felt that malevolent chakra five years ago, there was no way that it wasn't the Kyuubi's. For the civilians that same terror that had gripped their hearts and toyed with their lives was back and it was in the form a small boy.

Minato's mind had started to work into overtime at the thought of what had happened, it was indeed the same as the Kyuubi's chakra, but it was his son, he knew that. He could see that, so why had his son had that type of chakra it could only come from being a Jinchūriki. His mind was racing it suddenly stopped at the fact that there were two people in history that were not Jinchūriki but they had abilities very similar to them. Kumo's gold and silver brothers.

At that moment Minato knew what had happened, and could have kicked himself for not thinking there was a chance of it happening. Naruto was a pseudo-Jinchūriki. Coming out of his thoughts he could see the looks on the people around him, turning from confusion, to fear, to anger, and then settling somewhere between.

He had just told the entire room that Naruto was not a Jinchūriki and now they were all drawing there conclusions on what his son was. Before he could speak another voice in the room spoke out. "Be that as it may, the boy has power that should be put to use."

Minato turned towards the speaker, an old man covered in bandages with his left arm in a sling and a cane. He was surprised to see the old man at the meeting, Danzo Shimura did not usually attend these sorts of things. Always believing that he should stay to the shadows, out of sight even in the political part.

He had a lot of sway in the council yes, but he very rarely would show up and use it. Preferring to let others do it for him influencing decisions through other means so no one would be able to tell what way he was voting.

The fact that he was here today did not bode well. Before Minato could answer however another voice shouted, "That thing should be killed for what it did!" this was followed by the clans also shouting there agreement due to how it attacked their children.

This was what the meeting turned into, people shouting for blood, people agreeing with Danzo, some saying that he should be locked up. A loud bang erupted through the council room as Minato's fist impacted on the table. "None of you will lay a hand on my son" he did not shout, he spoke calmly and quietly. But the tone carried it through the chamber. Before he could speak again he felt the burning of the seal that was attached to Naruto before he quickly flashed away.

-()-

Minato appeared in his office to find the room appearing to only have his son, he presumed that Kakashi was hidden within the room.

His son was on the couch he was squirming in his sleep tossing and turning as he slept. He was breaking out in sweat. He seemed to be in a great amount of pain. He was broken from his thoughts as the boy started to scream in pain as he began to thrash violently.

Minato could feel the seal on his arm burn violently, pushing his thoughts to the side he quickly grabbed his son in a hug trying to calm him down, he didn't know what to do.

"It Burns!" Naruto suddenly started to scream as Minato held him, the thrashing became worse, and he could see tears in his son's eyes.

For Naruto it felt like his entire body was on fire, every muscle ached, every movement hurt, it felt like his insides were trying to liquefy itself from the heat. He just wanted it to stop, as the pain refused to subside he was only barely aware of the fact that someone was holding him.

He could feel the burning sensation start to come forth, the fire within him began to spread out and his skin felt like it was bubbling. Before another scream of pain could come his vision suddenly went black as he was greeted by darkness as he fell unconscious.

Minato stared on in horror, not at what was happening to his son, but at his own hand, the hand that he had used to knock Naruto out. He felt guilt and anger play about in his system, guilt that he had to knock his son out. And anger at himself for striking his own son, a low whimper came from beside him.

Holding his son tightly like he had the day his wife died afraid that he would slip away from him, Kichiro was at his side, whimpering as the fox looked on at what had happened. He felt like a monster at that moment, it was his job to help his son and all he had down was strike him. His brain couldn't register the fact that it was the right decision that it was better for him to be unconscious until he could figure out what to do, then be in pain, especially with that chakra bubbling on him again. No as far as he was concerned he was a monster, his son was in pain and he had hit him. He held the boy close hopping he would forgive him.

"Inu" he said to the room, when no response came he turned around, he had been expecting to find the ANBU captain behind him. When he wasn't there he called again. Still no one appeared. Pushing the thoughts to the side he quickly made his way to the door carrying his son, opening it he saw his secretary sitting at her desk, her hair looked frazzled.

"Sir" she said she looked between him and his son, "how is he?" she asked, he could hear the trepidation in her voice.

"Asleep, send word to the hospital. I need a doctor… preferable one that is a Hyuuga." He said to her, part of him knew that he shouldn't have taken Naruto from the hospital already but he needed to keep the boy at his side. He was afraid, he was afraid that if he left him alone he would lose him.

He didn't want to risk using the Hiraishin, his son had settled down and anything that altered his chakra at the moment may cause him harm. With that thought in mind he took off for the hospital, as his secretary sent a message to the building.

-()-

A.N

So there is chapter three I hope you enjoyed it.


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